EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy has revealed Phil Mitchell is her ultimate TV villain as she opened up about how he makes her want to be a better actor.
Natalie, who has played Sonia Fowler in the soap since 1993, admitted she herself is even frightened of Phil, who is played by Steve McFadden, as she described how he 'commands the room' when filming.
Speaking onBBC Sounds podcast Off the Telly: What Shall We Watch? with Joanna Page, Natalie said: 'The TV villain for me has to be Phil Mitchell.'
'I don’t care what - whoever’s listening, I don’t care what soap you’re in to but - and I know I’m biased but I think Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell, is the best TV villain.'
Confessing she herself is scared of the notorious soap villain she added: 'He is so good at what he does, and I am frightened of Phil.'
Natalie Cassidy has named Phil Mitchell as the best TV villain of all time as she revealed what it is REALLY like working with the iconic soap actor
Natalie, who has played Sonia Fowler in the soap since 1993, admitted she herself is even frightened of Phil (pictured), who is played by Steve McFadden, as she described how he 'commands the room' when filming
Shocked Joanna replied: 'Are you?!' as Natalie added: 'Yeah. I’m very good friends with Steve, but as soon as I step on set and Phil is there, you can’t help but not be scared of Phil.'
Probing for more information, Joanna: 'What’s it like, does he change?'
'Yeah of course, yeah absolutely. He just commands respect I feel and he commands the room,' explained Natalie.
'In a way that I, that I personally think for me, Steve is one of the best actors I’ve worked with just because I want to be on top of it, I want to be on top of my game.
'I just want to do the best that I can when I’m around him because he’s so good.
'And I think Phil as a character, what he’s been through. Affairs and prison and alcoholic and a heroin addict and a crack head - I just think he’s done everything.'
'He’s smashed up the pub, you know set fire to things and him and his brother Grant. But he’s just kinda stood the test of time and I really, really think he’s brilliant and he’s my favourite TV villain.'
And even Natalie's character Sonia has faced his wrath as she added: 'Sonia and Phil have had quite a few tear ups in their time.'
Speaking on BBC Sounds podcast Off the Telly: What shall we watch? with Joanna Page, Natalie said: 'I don’t care what - whoever’s listening, I don’t care what soap you’re in to but - and I know I’m biased but I think Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell, is the best TV villain'
Even Natalie's character Sonia has faced his wrath as she added: ' Sonia and Phil have had quite a few tear ups in their time' (pictured)
She added:'And I think Phil as a character, what he’s been through. Affairs and prison and alcoholic and a heroin addict and a crack head - I just think he’s done everything'
One of Phil's most iconic storylines was back in 2001 when t he notorious soap hardman was struck by a bullet in a scenes watched by almost 20 million viewers
'What was that like?' asked Joanna.
'Amazing actually...it was, how long ago? 20 years ago? We’re going back a good 20 years. And I’d helped Lisa, get away, run away and Phil comes to the door and bashes the door down and is like "WHERE’S MY BABY?! WHERE’S LISA?! WHERE IS SHE?!"
'And Sonia’s like "I don’t know, I don’t know". We did all this kind of, you know, him pushing me and it was brilliant. Screaming, I was like "I have made it now".
She added: 'Once you’ve done a scene like that with Steve McFadden, you have made it.'
One of Phil's most iconic storylines was back in 2001 when the notorious soap hardman was struck by a bullet in a scenes watched by almost 20 million viewers.
For a month fans theorised about who would have the nerve to try and kill Phil, and there was a long list of suspects as he'd managed to make enemies with most of Walford.
Five weeks after the shooting aired, viewers learned that the culprit was Lisa (Lucy Benjamin) who admitted she tried to kill him in a crazed fit of rage.
The episode made such an impact that the UEFA Cup semi-final was postponed for a whole 15 minutes to accommodate a showing of the episode.
